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Jon Craig

Reporter

jon.craig@dailyvoice.com

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Pleasantville native Jon Craig is special editor for the Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange and Dutchess Daily Voice sites. He is also the primary reporter for Daily Voice Plus Politics in Westchester and Fairfield.

Jon graduated from Cornell University and received his master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University. Across a 35-year career, he's worked as a reporter for daily newspapers in Chicago, New York, Ohio & Washington, D.C and as managing editor for weekly newspapers in Rye, White Plains and Harrison.

Jon also writes periodically for the Cornell Chronicle.

Career Highlights:

  • Covered Metro-North train wreck that killed a motorist and five commuters, 2015
  • Researched state investigative project for PublicIntegrity.org, 2011-12
  • National MADD award for database analysis of repeat drunk drivers in Ohio, 2008.
  • Henry F. Guggenheim Fellow, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 2010.
  • Sentenced to jail for protecting confidential sources (won on appeal), 1999.
  • Broke 30th anniversary story about Kent State shootings — using FBI records, resurrecting theory a student informant triggered fatal National Guard volley, May 2000.
  • Covered Ground Zero after Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks.
  • Uncovered voting problems before & during presidential recount in Ohio, 2004.
  • Witnessed botched Death Row execution of Romell Broom in 2009, one of more than a dozen I covered; Wrote about three inmates whose death sentences were commuted to life without parole.
  • Won IRE, SDX and multiple national & state awards for series led by Erik Kriss investigating New York General Assembly. 1994.
  • Guest lecturer at universities in NY & Ohio. Taught Syracuse high school journalism class.
  • Co-authored IRE-award winning series on illegal restraints/beatings at juvenile detention centers. Gov. Mario Cuomo had NY inspector general confirm what Hart Seely and I found at Division for Youth & fired top directors, 1993.
  • Survived Air Force Kool School training at North Pole, 1996.
  • Covered Persian Gulf wars, including 2002 bomb missions from Turkey and stateside Army/Air Guard training. 1991.
  • Supervised overnight coverage of Pan Am Flight 103 after Libyan bomb killed 35 Syracuse University students over Lockerbie, Scotland, 1988.
  • Covered aftermath of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s fatal plane crash from Cape Cod, 1999.
  • Greeted Kurt Vonnegut Jr. as Cornell Sun sports editor during daily's 100th anniversary dinner in May 1980. 

Jon Craig's Contributions

News
County Legislators Discuss Timetable, Concerns For New Manager At Playland County Legislators Discuss Timetable, Concerns For New Manager At Playland
County Legislators Discuss Timetable, Concerns For New Manager At Playland RYE, N.Y. -- Westchester County legislators tasked with reviewing a $25 million deal to operate Playland Amusement Park said they are confident they can meet a 60-day deadline for approval. Speaking to reporters during a conference call on Thursday, Legislator Peter Harckham, D-North Salem, said, "We've got a lot of work to do, but the goal is to get it done in 60 days." Harckham, who is chairman of the Board of Legislators' Committee on Parks, Labor, Housing & Planning, said legislators plan to meet once or twice weekly and visit Playland before it opens on May 9. The committee's n…

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by Jon Craig
Events
Little Garden Club's Annual Daffodil Show Rescheduled In Rye Little Garden Club's Annual Daffodil Show Rescheduled In Rye
Little Garden Club's Annual Daffodil Show Rescheduled In Rye RYE, N.Y. -- This year's harsh winter has another casualty: The Little Garden Club of Rye's annual daffodil show -- originally set for Thursday, April 16 -- was postponed to Thursday April 30. The daffodils are still pushing their way out from under the leaves and up towards the sun. The daffodils show's organizers said, "Please give them a little more time to unfurl those perianths!" The show will run from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Jay Heritage Center's yellow Carriage House, 210 Boston Post Road in Rye. Admission is free to view more than 5,000 blooms of an extraordinary number of …

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by Daily Voice
Schools
Schools In Westchester Reporting High Test Opt-Out Rates Schools In Westchester Reporting High Test Opt-Out Rates
Schools In Westchester Reporting High Test Opt-Out Rates This story has been updated. WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- Some school districts in Westchester are reporting high "opt out" or parent refusal rates on standardized tests being conducted statewide this week. Valhalla Union Free School District reported opt-out rates of 23 percent for grades three through five -- where 75 of 331 eligible students opted out of the English Language Arts (ELA) assessment. The opt-out rate was 35 percent for grades six through eight, where 132 of 375 eligible Valhalla students opted out of taking this week's tests. Yorktown Central School District reported …

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by Jon Craig
Schools
Putnam Schools Report High Test Opt-Out Rates Putnam Schools Report High Test Opt-Out Rates
Putnam Schools Report High Test Opt-Out Rates This story has been updated. PUTNAM COUNTY, N.Y. -- Some school districts in Putnam and Westchester counties are reporting high "opt out" or parent refusal rates on standardized tests being conducted statewide this week. High opt-out numbers from Mahopac, previously reported earlier this week, were first to surface. For more on that, click here. Schools in Putnam Valley and Ossining reported opt out figures of between 25 and 35 percent depending on the grade level of those taking the state English Language Arts assessment. At Putnam Valley Middle School, 190 students have opted ou…

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by Jon Craig
Sports
Backyard Sports Cares Serves White Plains Youths Backyard Sports Cares Serves White Plains Youths
Backyard Sports Cares Serves White Plains Youths WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Backyard Sports Cares is based in White Plains, but its impact is felt by children and teenagers throughout the region. The nonprofit organization brings the joy of team sports to children in underserved communities as well as to kids with special needs, according to its founder, Danny Bernstein. On Sunday at SUNY Purchase, Backyard Sports Cares is hosting its third annual fundraising tournament from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. There's still time to register here. Teams of three, including many parents of the children involved with Backyard Sports Cares, compete to raise fund…

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by Jon Craig
News
Astorino Details $25M Deal With New Manager Of Rye Playland Astorino Details $25M Deal With New Manager Of Rye Playland
Astorino Details $25M Deal With New Manager Of Rye Playland RYE, N.Y. -- Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino announced a tentative deal with Standard Amusements LLC to operate Rye Playland for the next 15 to 30 years. The new manager promised nearly $23 million in upgrades to the park in the next five years, a $2 million payment to the county and $300,000 annually. The county also would receive 7.5 percent of operating profits. Astorino said the deal was signed Monday night with Harrison native Nicholas Singer, partner and co-founder of Standard Amusements, who spent his youth visiting the park and skating at the ice rink. Astorino said…

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by Jon Craig
Politics
Westchester Politicians React To Hillary Clinton Candidacy For President Westchester Politicians React To Hillary Clinton Candidacy For President
Westchester Politicians React To Hillary Clinton Candidacy For President WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Elected officials from both sides of the political aisle offered praise for Hillary Clinton of Chappaqua, who formally announced her candidacy for president on Sunday.  It's the former U.S. senator and secretary of state's second bid for the presidency after she lost the Democratic Party nomination to Barack Obama in 2008. "Westchester is proud to have Secretary Clinton as a leading candidate for president," County Executive Rob Astorino said. "Mrs. Clinton and I may come from different political parties, but I admire her service and we have always enjoyed a friend…

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by Jon Craig
Schools
Port Chester High School Seniors Display Artwork At First-Time Exhibition Port Chester High School Seniors Display Artwork At First-Time Exhibition
Port Chester High School Seniors Display Artwork At First-Time Exhibition PORT CHESTER, N.Y.-- International Baccalaureate visual arts students, all seniors, held their first-ever art show at Port Chester High School on Thursday evening. Each of the 20 Port Chester students taking IB Visual Arts exhibited eight pieces in the show, done both in and out of class over the past two school years.   The subject of the students’ art included the skeleton, water, Caravaggio, Goya's "Disasters of War, Pirinesi, family members, short story illustration, illustrated envelopes and crushed cans.  The art utilized various media including pencil, ink, watercolor, papier …

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by Jon Craig
News
Rye Officials Report Suspicious Incident Outside Osborn Elementary School Rye Officials Report Suspicious Incident Outside Osborn Elementary School
Rye Officials Report Suspicious Incident Outside Osborn Elementary School RYE, N.Y. -- Rye officials reported a suspicious incident Thursday afternoon in the front parking lot of Osborn Elementary School. An adult male with an apparent foot fetish approached a female school district employee and asked to see her feet and her shoes. The unidentified man left after the woman declined his request in a dark blue Volkswagen sedan with New York plates. In an email sent about 5 p.m. Thursday, Rye Schools Superintendent Frank Alvarez wrote: "I wanted to make Rye City School District parents aware of a suspicious incident that occurred today on Osborn School grounds. …

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by Jon Craig
Business
Harrison Experiencing A Shuffling Of Restaurants Along Halstead Avenue Harrison Experiencing A Shuffling Of Restaurants Along Halstead Avenue
Harrison Experiencing A Shuffling Of Restaurants Along Halstead Avenue HARRISON, N.Y. -- Just when one popular eatery closes along Halstead Avenue in the village of Harrison, another one opens. Halstead Ave Taqueria had its "soft opening" on Monday at 261 Halstead Ave. Owner Luis Aguilera, a graduate of White Plains High School who now lives in Harrison, said he's planning a grand opening soon, "once our sauces and everything are exactly how I want them." Aguilera offers traditional Mexican cooking, handmade tortillas, made-to order guacamole, freshly-squeezed juices as well as southern and coastal dishes using local seasonal vegetables, fruits and herb…

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by Jon Craig
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